2020 Frugal Living Challenge

Viking_mfw

Oh dear, found another courgette that had escaped into marrowland...

CraftyLittleLisa

I had a morning at the allotment and I am pleased to say I managed to harvest a few potatoes, 3 courgettes, some runner and green beans, plus, raspberries and blueberries.  I'm rather pleased with that.

I am afraid my frugalling has been a bit patchy.  I have just done a check on my spreadsheet and my food budget for the year is well over to date.  I made a decision yesterday to stock up on the things that I need from town (as I don't go into town very often) so I have overspent this month.

In respect of my hobbies I have decided to try and concentrate on the "projects" that don't cost money.  To help with this I have made two lists, one listing everything I can do cost free and another one listing everything that costs and what I would need to buy to do it.  Hopefully it will help me to judge my spending a bit better.  I have managed to make a dress with supplies I already had except for a zip which cost me £1.80 so  not too bad.

A pleasant surprise this week is one of the guys at work that I worked for left recently and he sent me a gift of £100.00 to spend in garden centres.  I couldn't believe it.  I am now trying to think hard about what I should spend it on to ensure that I don't waste it.  That's frugal I suppose.

Thanks for all the inspiration you guys are giving me despite me floundering at times.

mumof3.12kindebt

Hello beautiful frugal friends. 
Thankyou for the good wishes regarding new job. I started the beginning on June. So far all is good 👍 hopefully it stays that way ☺️ 

June didn't see much frugaling here. But I've been back in the game since July and I've managed to save £1100 in my buy a car cash fund. I'm so pleased. 
I've written out a plan for where our spare money is going each month for the next 18 months, to help keep me on track. 
If I have any money left over next year from buying a car it will go streight to our loan. 
I've been trying to post daily over on my diary to stay accountable. I also read posts regularly on this thread. I'm back in the frugal saddle and hope to be debt free again and mortgage free as soon as possible. I'm also trying to work on ways to create extra income each month. Still trying to figure out match betting too ! 

Have a good day everyone 

Viking_mfw

Yay! Frugalling by procrastination! We need to buy the next size up car seat for DS1 which we realised a week ago. Yesterday a friend offered us their old one for free out of the blue so I'm going to pick it up today. 

mumof3.12kindebt

Viking_mfw said:

Yay! Frugalling by procrastination! We need to buy the next size up car seat for DS1 which we realised a week ago. Yesterday a friend offered us their old one for free out of the blue so I'm going to pick it up today. 

Yeahhy ! I always try to wait to see if I can source what I want for free or buy it second hand. 
I plan to buy any furniture for the house second hand and upcycle it too match our decor. 

Hi everyone , we have been sticking to frugal life. We decorated eldests bedroom over the last few days. It's finally finished. I will admit we didn't manage to source the stuff we wanted second hand but I did buy everything over the course of the last few months so the budget didn't feel like it had been blown in one go and we didn't go over our planned budget.  It looks like a completely different room. I'm very pleased with the outcome it's exactly how I planned. 

Only spend today will be good shop. And if it stays dry a trip to the park a picnic (or come home and make pizzas) and flying the kite. 

I've been hit with my monthly today (sorry tmi) and I honestly feel awful. I spent most of the morning on the sofa napping and feeling sorry for myself. I've done abit of cleaning. And sorted the laundry. Took some painkillers and Now I'm going to go for a bath. Get dressed and try to have a nice rest of the day. 

Have a lovely frugal day everyone 

Frugaldom

I've just started another little garden corner and have been barrowing loads of (free) manure to cover the rotting logs. It's kind of 'hugelkultur' style, although I call if 'frugalkultur', as I tend to miss out the topsoil and just layer the beds with whatever I have available. This one has the logs on the bottom, then manure then I'll add a layer of old straw from the hens & ducks, then more manure and compost. It's next to the manure heap so I'll probably stick to the more highly scented herbs, alongside the roses planted for their rosehips. (Link explains Hugelkulture for anyone who wasn't following Frugaldom when we first began trying this method of no-dig gardening. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%BCgelkultur )
My latest mini-challenge to repair the pink caravan is moving very slowly. it's been in use constantly for over a year now. It cost £50 to have it towed here in Jan. 2019 so it's probably paid its keep already. However, I've now gathered up most of the tools needed and ordered proper sealant to attempt major repairs. The scrap yard wanted between £400 and £500 to come and take the caravan away so if I cen get another year or two of use out of said caravan, simply using it as a place to make a cuppa, store tools and get in out of the rain, then I don't mind spending a couple of hundred pounds making it safe. At the minute, two corners and part of the floor are rotten. I think the caravan is about 35 years old. I've joined a FB group with some really helpful people on there but it's such a daunting task for a non-DIY expert like myself that I keep putting off doing the work for fear the caravan collapses in a heap around me but I don't relish the  prospect of another winter of storms batterng the little pink caravan.
I managed to get a M0rrison's order delivered - they only started doing deliveries here since lockdown began, as A$da wasnt coping withe the massive increase in demand. I spoke to the driver and he informed me that the store is now building an extention so they can offer click and collect and continue with home deliveries after lockdown, too. Our nearest store is about 20 miles away so it's more cost effective for me to pay the delivery charge than use a gallon of petrol and finding the time to go shopping. Glad to say that they have included the option to buy savers products and reduced their order minimum to £25.

[Deleted User]

Hello frugal friends,

Still well and truly frugalling here. I've been feeling a bit out of sorts, but I know why that is. We are back to work and school in a fortnight, so I'm preparing for that. My car was no longer cost effective (needed ££££ spending on it to get it through it's next MOT and service), so that has gone. No longer a big car tax to pay and monthly insurance, phew. We've gone without one before and we can do it again. Better for our health as we will walk more. I am quite excited really. I've started to look at our insurances etc and finalising a budget for next year. 

I will pop in again later this week with a fuller update, just wanted to pop in and say hi. Oh and I have £1200 in savings now! 😉🥳

sashacat

Hello Frugaleers, 
i am now on holiday in Central Scotland and enjoying a few frugal weeks staying with a friend. We are walking, gardening, beekeeping and looking after hens and ducks. It is wonderful just to get out of the heat for a few weeks. 

CraftyLittleLisa

I wonder if I can pick the brains of all you wise owls.  I want to try and get myself back into the frugalling habit and I was trying to make notes, or rules if you like, that I can keep in mind to help me.  I would love your opinions on what I have come up with below:

Rule 1 - Every time you spend money log it - even if it is 10p (I have got the spreadsheet to do that already)

Rule 2 - Don't spend on any "luxuries" until the end of the month.

Rule 3 - When you go to buy something ask yourself do you really need it or will something else work in its place or even see if you can borrow one to try before you buy to see if you would make use of it first?

Rule 4 - Is what you are buying value for money, eg are you getting more nutrition out of that cream tart than you would out of that bag of apples?

Rule 5 - Allow yourself one "treat" a month

And an incentive I have thought of is "Do you still want to be working in your 70s?"

Do you think these simple rules cover a wide enough spectrum of spending.  Thanks in advance for your help.

frostie101

If hubby and I were to start growing our own what are the easiest vegetables to start with?
Do you think its better to grow in raised beds or direct in soil?
Have grown tomatoes and peppers before.